It’s Friday!!  Last night I was trying to think of what to make for supper and I remember picking up some green beans and I thought it would be a great side dish to go with some baked haddock.  It was so nice to have just a simple dinner after a long day.  I was really impressed with the flavor combination on the beans.  Balsamic vinegar is a great addition to any quick vegetable saute.

To finish off the beans, I topped them with Parmesan cheese and sliced almonds.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups of Green Beans
• 1 Tbsp. Water
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Basil Paste
• Sea Salt
• Cracked Black Pepper
• Sliced almonds
• Parmesan Cheese

Method

1. Preheat saute pan on high and add the water and beans.







Kitty on the counter making sure everything is going according to plan.

2. Cook beans until the water dissolves about 3 minutes and then add balsamic vinegar, garlic and basil paste



3. Stir fry for another minute and add the pepper.
4. Top off with sliced almonds and Parmesan cheese
5. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: To make a garlic paste, slice the garlic finely and add a little bit of salt on the board and rub the garlic back and forth over it on the board.  The salt will break down the garlic and make a great paste for the beans.

So there you have it!  A quick and simple bean dish for absolutely everyone.  Try it and let me know what you think.  As I was eating it last night I thought that a nice addition would be a splash of some red pepper flakes or a dash of hot sauce to really quick it up.  Nonetheless I enjoyed it!

I hope you have an awesome Friday and a great Valentine’s day!  We have a busy weekend lined up with the Olympics, Jack Frost Winter Festival, and some music lessons.  Enjoy your weekend and we shall talk on Monday.

Take care

zesty

Holy cow it is Friday again!  I don’t have a whole lot of time to write tonight as I need to run to the house to prep some floors and move the dehumidifier to the south end of the house.  We passed the humidity test in most of the house and there is just a couple of areas that are a little high.  Needless to say we are getting the floor delivered tomorrow and the stairs material.

The upstairs window/door trim paint is coming along nicely so I think we may be getting some flooring starting on Monday.  Exciting I know.  We are still waiting on our tub upstairs which is causing a little undo stress….. just kidding.  It should be along soon and then we can cut the drain hole to get ready for the ceramic tile.

Sorry for the long winded reason as to why this post would be short.

On to the food

I do love zucchini and I am always looking for fun quick ways to add it as a side vegetable.  A while back I fooled around with garlic, an onion, an orange and turned regular zuke into a yummy side dish with some white fish.

Here we go with the 5 ingredients (6 if you count pepper ). I love making dishes with 5 ingredients or less.

Ingredients

• Zucchini
• 1 Orange
• 1 Clove of Garlic
• 2 Tbsp. finely diced onion
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• Black Pepper

Method

1. Preheat the skillet to medium high heat.
2. Add olive oil and onion and let it sweat for 2 minutes
3. Add garlic and zucchini and toss quickly for 3 minutes
4. Add juice of an orange and some zest and let reduce  for 4 minutes
5. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Use the zest!  Don’t be afraid to use the zest of the fruit you are using in the dish.  Be careful not to peel into the pit as that tends to be bitter.

So there you have it.  No need of making the plain old boring vegetables ever again.  Kick them up with some of your favorite flavors or for that matter – whatever you have on hand.  Just go for it!  If it turns out terrible, just don’t make it again – It is no big deal.

Have an awesome Friday and a great weekend.  I will be back in action on Monday via the Internet in Virginia.

Take care

zesty